The present invention relates to an apparatus for the conveying of containers, and in particular plastics material containers. Apparatus of this type have long been known from the prior art. In this way, it is known for example for containers, such as for example plastic bottles, to be conveyed on plastics material belts or even plastics material chains. Plastics material chains of this type are usually produced from polyamide (PA) or polyoxymethylene (POM). In order to reduce the friction a lubricant is usually applied to the surface of the chain or the conveyor belt.
Since conveyor systems in dry running have been required to an increasing extent in recent years, however, problems concerning an increased coefficient of friction between the containers and the plastics material flat-top chains or flush-grid chains respectively arise to an ever greater degree. Tests without belt lubricants and other materials, such as for example metal, PA and POM, have broken down inter alia at the coefficient of friction of the materials for the PET containers. In particular, in recent years increasingly lighter plastics material pre-forms have been used in order to reduce weight and, on the other hand, an increasing amount of recycled material is also used for the production of plastics material containers. This choice of material, however, also leads to the plastics material containers also having an increased tendency to stick.
In this case both sticking of the plastics material containers to one another and sticking of the plastics material containers to the conveyor belt or the conveying chain respectively can occur.
A conveying chain, which has a plurality of connecting elements which are connected to one another by pins, is known from EP 0 987 200 A2. In this case these connecting elements are produced from a synthetic resin material.
EP 1 705 198 A1 likewise describes a conveying chain with a plurality of connecting members, these connecting members being connected to a plate and this plate having a synthetic resin material and at least one antistatic element with a high molecular weight.
In the prior art it is usually necessary for use to be made of additional consumable materials which have to be additionally washed off again for cleaning purposes in conjunction with water or which continuously encumber the waste water disposal in the case of wet lubrication.
The object of the present invention is therefore to make available a conveying device which has a lower friction with the containers to be conveyed.